


Bottles Full for Shanty Men

by tatertotarmy



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Alcohol, F/M, Female Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Miqo'te Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Musica Universalis Zine, Named Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:01:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29393091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatertotarmy/pseuds/tatertotarmy
Summary: All of it sounded like chaos, with notes sometimes clashing and verses barely meeting the end of a measure. But the sheer joy in the air, the laughter, the smiles between all of the drunken Redbills in the audience made an amused smile curl up on A’vedis’ lips. So, this was a Redbill celebration.--Written for Musica Universalis, a music-themed FFXIV zine
Relationships: Leofard Myste/Warrior of Light
Kudos: 4





	Bottles Full for Shanty Men

The blow of a fife. A grimace. A sigh.

A’vedis was really bad at this, wasn’t she? She could slay primals, save a city from a raging dragon, and be a famed Warrior of Light...and yet she couldn’t even get a single note out of a fife. Once, long before she joined the Scions, she knew how to play a decent tune or two. But it seemed whatever talent she had was left in the dust in favor of guns and summoning carbuncles. 

Another sigh was drawn out of her, and she looked out to the clouds below. She had come all this way to the Sea of Clouds for some privacy, and yet it was all going to waste. Even if she was alone, the notes were so jarring and nasty that even she couldn’t stand the sound. Trying any more would probably provoke the Vanu Vanu into summoning Bismarck again. And she honestly didn’t want to fight a primal over some terrible attempts at a fife. 

A’vedis stood up, twirling the instrument between her hands and stretching. At the very least, Ishgard wasn’t far. Maybe a drink would be better use of her downtime…

She reached into her pocket, grabbing the whistle for her chocobo…

And then, a complete mass of luggage and crates pierced the clouds below, hurling up towards the islands and whipping right in front of her.

“Whoa!” A’vedis jumped back, knocking right down on her tail. She looked up as this practical boulder floated up high into the sky, nearly blocking out the sun. Her eyes screwed shut, just waiting for it to crash right back down…

Only for her to hear the loud hum of an engine, and nothing else. 

Slowly, her eyes opened and she looked up. The mass was...floating. It began descending down towards the edge of the island she stood at, far slower than any mass of luggage should fall. And it only drifted closer and closer.

That couldn’t be an airship...could it?

What drifted towards the edge of the land looked like hardly an airship at all. At first glance, it looked like a mass of crates and boxes bound up in a heap. But between some of the ropes, she saw the tell-tale signs of an airship: a streak of skysteal, a sad wing protruding from the side. Some part of A’vedis wondered if this was an Ishgardian experiment gone horribly wrong, like if Aymeric had suggested new ways to transport supplies to drunken moogles in Dravania. 

“A’vedis!”

She jumped. The mass of crates was _talking_. A’vedis looked around, trying to find anyone at the helm of this monstrosity until she finally found a tiny hand waving at her from within the crates. And sitting right at the helm, her legs tied down to a box that took up most of her seat was Utata Uta, the Lalafell engineer of the Redbills.

“Hoped I would see you ‘round!” Utata grinned, giving A’vedis a wave. 

A’vedis blinked, nearly dropping her fife.

“Hm?” Utata looked confused, but then looked around, a sly grin crossing her face, “I know. Impressive, right? My airships can handle just about anything, you know.”

A’vedis chuckled, her tail lowering down to press against her legs, “R-Right...really is impressive. That from a new adventure?”

“Could say that,” Utata grinned, gesturing to the entire airship. “These are our spoils from the latest jaunt. Captain kept most of it, but Stacia found some really nice buyers for the leftovers. This doesn’t even cover most of what we got.”

“Really?” A’vedis looked genuinely impressed. Stacia actually managed to pry some goods off of the captain? “Well, suppose a congratulations is in order.”

“And a celebration.” Utata gestured out to all of the crates strapped to the airship, looking completely proud all the while. “This is why I have all this. Captain told me to buy all the booze my ship can carry, and my ship _delivers_.”

If delivering complete horror to Ishgardian citizens was the goal, Utata definitely succeeded.

“Well I’m sure there’ll be a lot of drunk pirates sailing the skies tonight,” A’vedis joked.

“A ton of drunk pirates...and a drunk Warrior of Light.”

“Huh?” A’vedis rose an eyebrow. “You planning on dropping off a crate with me?”

“Course not. You’re invited.”

A’vedis rose an eyebrow, “I am? Don’t think I ever got an invitation for something like that.”

“Well, we didn’t send out any invites or anything. Captain just told me to bring you with me if I happened to see you. So thank the gods I spotted you!”

Honestly, it was complete dumb luck that Utata managed to spot her while going warp speed on a boulder-sized monstrosity.

“I mean, I’m always up for a celebration, though I need to go back topside to grab the Mana Cutter. I’ll be a bit late.” If she arrived on the Parrock on anything less, there would surely be a whiny captain to deal with.

“You don’t need to go through that trouble…” Utata grinned mischievously, gesturing to her airship, “Just hop aboard mine!”

A’vedis stared. “You’re joking.”

“I’m not!” Utata patted one of the crates. “My ship can handle even more than this little load. Course, I haven’t tested that, but I just know it can! Come on, you gotta come with me. Wouldn’t want to miss a Redbill celebration, do you…?”

A’vedis stood there a while, weighing her options. One, she boards the crazy airship and falls to her death. Two, she returns to Ishgard to grab the Mana Cutter and arrives when everyone’s already drunk off their asses. Three, she teleports to Limsa Lominsa and pretends like none of this had ever happened, and she gets to sleep in a warm bed in the evening and not plummet from the sky awaiting certain doom.

Option three was the smart choice. But then again...that was a lot of booze. And A’vedis Tade was not known for being the smartest of women. A smart woman wouldn’t take a life of primal slaying, after all.

“You know what?” A’vedis took in a deep breath, stepping towards the ship. “I haven’t had a life-or-death experience lately. Figure this’ll get my quota for the month.”

Utata laughed, “Do you doubt me that much? I’m the best engineer in the skies!”

More like a mad engineer.

“Sure thing captain, where do I strap in?”

“I’m sure there’s a few extra ropes lying around. Just tie yourself in nice and good, alright?”

Seriously?

A’vedis looked at the absolute unit of an airship and shivered. Well, she already agreed. This situation was already impossible. Of course she had to manually strap herself in.

If A’vedis survived this, she was taking a crate of alcohol home with her.

\--

“Utata…what is this…?”

Had the airship stopped?

A’vedis’ ears perked up as her entire frame trembled, and slowly she turned her head to see Stacia and Cait Sith standing on the dock beside the airship. Her hair on both her head and tail stuck straight up on all ends, her arms still latched onto the crate she was tied to. She must have looked like a complete fool at the moment, but she could only thank the Navigator to see land again. This Lalafell was a madwoman. She thought that Ironworks sometimes had crazy ideas, but this…

She had battled Nidhogg and the Ultimate Weapon itself, and she would face both of them again a thousand times over if she never had to ride that airship ever again.

Utata grinned, quickly untying herself and motioning happily to the airship, “Captain wanted all the alcohol I could carry! And look at what I could carry!”

“This…” Cait Sith sighed, putting both of his paws on his face, “This is just madness…”

“This is a celebration, that’s what!” Utata grinned, hopping down to the docks, ruffling up Cait Sith’s fur.

“Is that...the Warrior of Light?” Stacia asked, locking eyes with A’vedis.

“Am I?” A’vedis weakly replied with a shaky voice, her knuckles still white on the crate, “Sorry I think I left my thoughts several malms that way.”

“Exciting, right?” Utata looked over at A’vedis and grinned.

“Sure was something…”

Suddenly, there was the sound of a door opening, followed by a rush of footsteps. A’vedis looked up to see the captain of the Redbills, Leofard, walking out with a grin on his face, flanked by a few other Redbills. The second he saw the airship docked, he stopped, his eyes noticeably growing wide behind his goggles. 

Leofard looked between the airship and Utata several times. Utata only wore a big grin on her face, full to the brim with pride. 

Then, he let out a bellowing laugh.

“Took it as a challenge, did ya?”

Utata beamed, “Of course! All the alcohol I could carry!”

“Glad ta know we’re in capable hands here,” Leofard grinned, walking closer to the airship. It was then when A’vedis finally shook herself from her post-flight stupor, finally realizing just who was approaching. She looked down to the ropes tied around her, trying to remember which one tied her to where. 

“Oh? What do we have ‘ere?”

She looked up and locked eyes with Leofard, who was grinning from ear to ear. A’vedis immediately looked down, trying to untie herself with one hand, the other unwilling to unlatch itself from the crate. As her fingers tried and failed to even make a dent on the tight knots, she heard Leofard’s footsteps grow closer. Her eyebrows furrowed, trying even more…

But then, two gloved hands came in, quickly untying the ropes. And in seconds, A’vedis was pulled away from the airship and into the arms of the captain of the Redbills.

“Looks like it’s not jus’ booze ya got,” Leofard looked down at the miqo’te in his arms, a cocky look in his eye, “Fancy meetin’ you here, kitten.”

A’vedis huffed, crossing her arms, “Your engineer’s out of her mind, Leo.”

“You’re the one who jumped on,” Utata quipped back, giggling as she walked down the docks, towards the Parrock. 

Leofard raised an eyebrow, looking practically smug. A’vedis furrowed her eyebrows, squirming around to get out of his arms.

“That eager ta see me?”

“Don’t humor yourself. I’m here for the booze.” 

Leofard burst out in laughter, letting A’vedis down. “Ya wound me. Usin’ us fer a good time…”

“Should have thought twice before inviting me, then.” A’vedis felt a grin cross her lips as she walked down the docks.

“Really?” Leofard followed, gesturing for some of the Redbills to begin unpacking the ship, “Maybe I will. You’ll miss out on all the booze and music next time we celebrate, though.”

“Music?” A’vedis rose an eyebrow, “Didn’t realize you guys hired musicians.”

“No, we didn’t,” Stacia spoke up, following behind with Cait Sith in tow, “A lot of the men here like attempting shanties while they’re drinking, though.”

“Quite a spectacle…” Cait Sith sighed, “Though quite undignified.”

“Jus’ not used to it yet,” said Leofard, “One day you’ll join in.”

“I highly doubt it…”

“Yer too serious, puss,” Leofard looked over at A’vedis, “Though I’m sure you’ll join in…”

“Nope,” A’vedis shook her head, rushing ahead to open the door to the stairs, “Sorry to say that I’m not one for music.”

From further up the stairs, Utata peeked out, “But weren’t you playing a - ”

“Nope!” A’vedis rushed forward, quickly going up the stairs, “Nothing at all!” 

Utata merely chuckled mischievously, hopping further up to get to the second door leading to the main area of the Parrock. A’vedis followed, taking in a deep breath as she stepped back out to the sun.

In an instant, she was greeted by the sound of music, the smells of strong alcohol, and the sight of countless Redbills gathered around the Parrock, conversing and laughing amongst each other. In the far side of the landing, right near the edge of the island, was a gathering of many different Redbills with many different instruments that would hardly work together in a formal setting - a violin, a lute of sorts, a horn, a fife, and percussion provided with rusted-out pots and empty crates. Several more around them joined in for a garbled, drunken melody that sounded vaguely like pirate shanties A’vedis had heard before in Limsa Lominsa, with references to the sea haphazardly replaced with sky-themed verses. 

All of it sounded like chaos, with notes sometimes clashing and verses barely meeting the end of a measure. But the sheer joy in the air, the laughter, the smiles between all of the drunken Redbills in the audience made an amused smile curl up on A’vedis’ lips. So, this was a Redbill celebration. 

She walked out further into the celebration, waving at any sky pirate she recognized. She managed to catch one of the last bottles of booze before Utata’s restock, and she felt herself grinning as she felt the energy of the people around her, as well as the spirited, half-done shanties that filled the air. 

Eventually, she found herself in the grass near all of the drunken players, waiting for the next song to start up. She took a long sip of her party favor, grinning all the while. 

“Look like yer already enjoyin’ yerself.”

A’vedis perked up, grinning when she saw the captain approach, a fresh bottle in his own hand. 

“Perhaps I am,” A’vedis answered, “You might have an idea how to throw a celebration.”

“Bold words from someone halfway through a bottle.”

“Until it kicks in, it’s only a _might_ ,” A’vedis spoke, chuckling.

“Right…” Leofard looked over to all of the drunken players nearby, all taking a break to drink some more, “You waitin’ to join in?”

“Huh?” A’vedis looked over at the players, “No, why?”

“Heard Utata say somethin’ ‘bout you playin’ somethin’, right?”

“You must have misheard.”

“Then what’s that?” Leofard pointed down to the fife strapped down to her side. 

A’vedis froze, slowly following his gaze down to the blasted thing. By the Navigator, why couldn’t it have flown off on Utata’s wild ride through the sky? She already knew she was garbage at playing a fife. No use in keeping it now, let alone be harassed about it by a sky pirate.

“It’s nothing,” A’vedis spoke, snapping her gaze back up, “I’m planning on selling it.”

“If yer gonna sell it, then at least give us a performance first,” Leofard grinned.

“No way.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

“Plenty,” A’vedis furrowed her eyebrows, “I’m not playing. You wouldn’t be getting a good performance, anyway.”

“Come on, kitten,” Leofard paused to take another swig of his bottle, “It’s obvious that we ain’t the best of the best. Sure we’d get called heretics fer playin’ this bad in Ishgard. It’s all good fun.”

“You’re just saying that to get me to play.”

“Maybe,” Leofard smirked, “Or maybe not.”

“You’re an ass. You know that, right?”

“Yer just scared, aren’t ya?” Leofard sighed, turning away, “Can’t play with a buncha pirates, huh?”

A’vedis frowned. Oh no. He wasn’t about to do this.

“Like I said, there’s no use, Leofard.”

“I was thinkin’ of joinin’ in, too,” Leofard sighed, “But maybe my playin’ is just too _advanced_ …”

She was about to walk into a trap and she knew it. But damn it, if she had to listen to this pirate captain prattle on for much longer…

“Hardly believe the Redbill captain can play much better than his men.”

“You forget one thing, kitten,” Leofard took a step towards the gathering of drunken instrumentalists, a sly look on his face, “I wasn’t always a pirate.” And with that, he walked towards the players, trading off the rest of his bottle for a well-worn violin with greyed strings and a scratched surface - obviously seeing way more use beyond its life-expectancy. And all around him, the other players began to stir after final swigs of their bottles.

The man by the crates began to slam a rhythm into the side. A woman with a rusted pot began to tap in a few more beats. And slowly, the rest of the drunken Redbill players began to join in with their own instruments, playing a song that barely resembled a sea shanty. It was the beat that held it all together, with some instruments fading out and fading in as people forgot and remembered the notes around them. Leofard was the only one who refrained for now, holding the violin and waiting for some sort of cue, his eyes looking mischievously at A’vedis. 

A’vedis sat stiff in her place, trying not to give into the urge. It wasn’t worth it...she could barely get a single note out…

Leofard got into position, placing his bow on the string and smirking at her.

Alright, maybe it was a little worth it.

She took one long swig of her bottle and tossed it to the side, standing up and grabbing her fife. All around, some excited chatter began to bubble up in a duet to the building music. All about the Warrior of Light going to play a tune. 

Well, they would be in for some disappointment. But she at least couldn’t sit back and let Leofard gloat.

He chuckled as she entered the main music circle, stepping to be right beside her, “Glad ta see ya could join us.”

“I have no idea what this song is,” A’vedis spoke, raising up her fife, “Prepare for disappointment.”

“Alright,” Leofard spoke, “But just a little secret, I don’t. And nobody else does either. Jus’ relax.”

And then, Leofard drew the bow down the string, and began to play something akin to a melody against the building music. It didn’t sound right. Some notes clashed with others. Sometimes the rhythm was off-step from the beats of the crate. But still...all around them, the Redbills laughed and joined in with whatever weird decision he made on the violin. 

A’vedis stared, unsure what exactly to do. It was clear he was the current lead of the song, though A’vedis hardly knew how to join in or knock him off his high horse. She could barely even get one note out. How could she even measure up to bad playing.

“Come on, kitten.” Leofard drew another long note from the violin. “Scared?”

“Course not,” A’vedis drew the fife to her lips, staring down the sky pirate captain. And she took in a long, deep breath, and blew as hard as she could. 

Immediately, a loud, jarring sound blurted out from the fife, sounding akin to the cries of a dying animal. At first, A’vedis froze, her cheeks growing bright red. Was that the sound a fife was supposed to make? By the Navigator…

But instead of the nightmare scenario of everyone stopping and staring right at her...there was only laughter. Other musicians followed with similarly loud noises, mimicking her own by putting their worn instruments to the test. And then...the music continued.

“Wow…” Leofard laughed, slamming his bow to the string to drag out a note in response, “That all ya got, Warrior of Light?”

A’vedis stopped, grinning, “Not at all.” And she pressed the fife to her lips once more...and began letting out even more disjointed notes from her fife, all while the music around her began to swell. 

The crowd around them swelled, joining in with laughter and half-assed attempts to create another shanty to go along with the cobbled-together songs. And to her own surprise, A’vedis remained up in the center of the group with Leofard, putting out the most she could with her limited skills at the fife. It wasn’t for a special, professional song. It was just for pure enjoyment, for the chaos in the middle of a celebration that most hardly remembered the meaning of. 

It wasn’t until late at night when the celebration finally winded down, devolving to a slew of drunken Redbills lining the grass of the Parrock. And A’vedis was left with a completely sore throat and chest from all the playing, lying on the grass with her fife held close to her side. 

Beside her, Leofard also laid out on the grass, the violin long gone and passed to another, his fingertips irritated and blistered from the amount of playing he’d done. He turned his head to her, chuckling softly.

“Still lookin’ to sell that thing?”

A’vedis furrowed her eyebrows, turning away as much as her exhaustedly drunken self could.

“Not a chance.”


End file.
